No Cast Destination Found?

Several issues can prevent your Chromecast device from showing up when casting from Chrome. If you can’t find your Chromecast, Chromecast Audio, TV with Chromecast built-in, or Chromecast built-in speaker, see the troubleshooting steps below.

Basic troubleshooting

If your Chromecast or Chromecast built-in device is set up properly and connected to Wi-Fi to the same Wi-Fi network as your phone, you should see it on your TV with its assigned name and the current time, and cycling through photos.

It is compatible with both 2.4 GHz WiFi 802.11 b/g/n WiFi networks and 5 GHz networks, so you will see both when setting up the device. If you have a dual band router, you must disable AP isolation. Other devices such as your laptop/computer can use the 5 GHz band; the 5 GHz band will maximize performance when casting a tab.

If other devices (e.g. phones, tablets) can't cast successfully, then it's likely an issue with your router or network.

Try rebooting your Wi-Fi router by unplugging and plugging the power source.

Make sure that your Chromecast device and other devices are connected to the same network. After your Cast device boots up, check that the network name displayed on the TV is the same one currently selected on your computer, mobile device, or tablet.

If other devices can cast successfully, then issues with your computer and/or Chrome are likely.

Make sure your computer is on the same network as your Chromecast device.

Confirm your Chrome browser is up to date. To check the version number, type about://chrome into the search bar. If the browser needs to be updated, click Update Google Chrome to update your Chrome browser to the latest version.

Disconnect from Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or proxy servers. Chromecast devices can't communicate with a laptop over these networks. If you need help with this, please check with your service provider for instructions.

Ensure that firewall/antivirus software are up to date and aren’t blocking connections to the Chromecast device. Firewall: If you are renting a wireless router, please contact your internet provider. If you purchased the router, check your network firewall settings.

If the above steps don’t resolve your issues, try rebooting your Wi-Fi router, your Chromecast device, and your computer by unplugging and plugging the power source. This can help to clear temporary issues.

Windows 8 and 8.1 have sharing settings that must be set to ON. The steps to do this differ slightly depending on operating system version.

On Windows 8.1 (most users), you can do the following:

Navigate to Settings. To do this, move your mouse to the far right of the screen to show the menu bar. Settings will be at the bottom.

Select Change PC Settings (at the very bottom of the Settings menu).

Select Network.

Select your connected Wi-Fi network (next to Wi-Fi bar image).

Under Find Devices and Content, make sure it is set to On.

If you are running Windows 8, you can do the following:

Navigate to your Desktop. (Your Desktop will be one of the default tiles on your homescreen).

Click on your Wi-Fi settings on the bottom of your desktop bar (at the very bottom, right hand side of your Desktop).

Right click on your connected Wi-Fi network.

Select Turn sharing on or off.

Make sure sharing is set to On.

Do you have the Bonjour service installed?

Disabling the Bonjour service (if installed) may help find your Chromecast device. You will need to change the Bonjour service properties so that its startup type is set to 'disabled,' and then reboot your computer.
Bonjour is installed by some Apple apps (e.g. iTunes); more information about its uses can be found here: https://support.apple.com/HT2250

Do you have antivirus app installed?

Some Antivirus apps are known to cause Chromecast discovery issues.

Make sure your antivirus software is up to date by installing any updates from the manufacturer.

If you are running Kaspersky, under Network Settings, disable Scan Encrypted Connections. After making this change, you should immediately be able to find devices.

For other anti-virus software, look for options related to SSL, TLS, or encrypted connection scanning. You might also try temporarily disabling or uninstalling anti-virus software to confirm that it is the source of the issue.

Windows 10 has privacy settings that must be set to ON in order to communicate with Chromecast devices. If you're using a Wi-Fi connection:

Navigate to Start.

Click on Settings in the Start menu

Click on Network and Internet in the Settings menu

Scroll down and click on Advanced options in Settings menu

Click on Allow your PC to be discoverable by other PCs and devices on this network. Microsoft recommends turning this on for private networks at home or work, but turning it off for public networks to help keep your stuff safe.

To verify the Network has changed from Public to Private Network, go back to Network and Internet. Scroll down to Network and Sharing Centre. Under the Wi-Fi name, it should say Private Network.

If you're using a Ethernet connection:

Go to Start, then select Settings > Network & Internet > Ethernet.

Click the network you want to change.

Click Make this PC discoverable.

Do you have the Bonjour service installed?

Disabling the Bonjour service (if installed) may help find your Chromecast device. You will need to change the Bonjour service properties so that it's startup type is set to 'disabled' and then reboot the machine.

If you are running Kaspersky, under Network Settings, disable Scan Encrypted Connections. After making this change, you should immediately be able to find devices.

For other anti-virus software, look for options related to SSL, TLS, or encrypted connection scanning. You might also try temporarily disabling or uninstalling anti-virus software to confirm that it is the source of the issue.

Less common issues

Sometimes Chrome discovers a device on the network, but cannot establish a connection to it. These errors are usually caused by router or networking settings. Please ensure that AP isolation is disabled on your router, and that any firewall features on your router that might block incoming connections to your Chromecast built-in speakers are not enabled.

Check whether your computer clock is out-of-sync with current Internet time. A useful site is time.is, which will report the time difference between your computer and the actual time. If your clock is within several hours, you can skip further steps.

If you set your time manually, check that it is set correctly, including the time zone. If your clock shows the correct local time, but is set to a non-local timezone, this may be the cause the issue.

Enabling automatic time synchronization is preferred so that your clock is always up to date.

Still need help? Check out the related questions below from our help forum. Note: Help is currently in English only.